Dunmanway Business Breakfast

Dunmanway’s Business Breakfast hosted by its go ahead Chamber of Commerce was well attended by the local business community who are supporting the Chamber in putting Dunmanway where it is on the map, at the centre of that wonderful place called West Cork.

There was an excellent attendance from Dunmanway businesses’ at the Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast in the Parkway Hotel today. Sergeant Ian O’Callaghan of An Garda Síochána updated the business community on anti-Crime initiatives in West Cork in the run up to Christmas and the implementation of CCTV including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) on approach roads to the town. He outlined measures businesses and individuals can take to increase security whilst emphasising West Cork is a generally safe area with incidences of crime much less than the National average.

Sergeant Ian O’Callaghan attended the first of eleven West Cork Retail Crime Prevention meetings at a breakfast event hosted by Dunmanway Chamber of Commerce this morning.

Peter Walsh updated on the much anticipated opening early in 2018 of the Brookpark Enterprise Centre which will offer 1GB Broadband, hot desking and conferencing facilities similar to the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen. Catherine Crowley outlined the hectic year enjoyed by the Chamber of Commerce including organising the Belle of Ballabuidhe Ball and other events during the historic Ballabuidhe Festival, Barn Dance, Xmas Family Day, Christmas lights and Live Crib, making civic improvements and a very substantial donation to Dunmanway’s marvellous Meals on Wheels Service which provides both food and a much valued social lifeline to our Senior Citizens.

The Chamber of Commerce also launched the new town websitewww.DunmanwayTown.com

which is in beta with the official launch taking place in conjunction with the launch of the Brookpark Enterprise Centre in the New Year. Chamber members will have a premium listing on the website with a logo / image and web and social media links. In conjunction with the Website the Chamber has launched a Social Media storm to promote Dunmanway as a great place to live / work / play and last, but not least, to shop! Check us out, link / comment / engage / connect and be part of the change in our great little town, the warm hearted centre of West Cork.

Helen O’Reilly, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, outlined the very full day of events planned around the Dunmanway Xmas Market which is taking place on Thursday 30th November from 15.00 to 19.00 on the Market Square in the centre of town and the road which will be closed off. There will be entertainment and performances sponsored by Dunmanway Chamber and Cork County Council including local school choirs local school choirs, the turning on of the Christmas Lights not the mention the long awaited return of the Snowball Race!

There will be around 20 food stalls in the aptly named Market Square in Dunmanway on 30th November with shops opening late and offering special discounts. The Xmas draw will also be launched with free tickets for shoppers in Dunmanway and valuable vouchers as prizes redeemable in Dunmanway’s businesses. When you shop local it stays local and provides economic boost and employment to keep Dunmanway and the other great towns of West Cork alive and thriving. As Helen explains in the video below the Xmas Market will be the template for an enlarged Dunmanway Thursday Market which will be launching in 2018.

Last but far from least let us not forget Dunmanway’s most famous son, the Nationalist and Sportsman Sam Maguire after which the famous trophy for the All Ireland Senior Football Final the “Sam Maguire Cup” is named. The local launch of Kieran Connolly’s book “Sam Maguire – The Man and the Cup” in Dunmanway Model School on Friday 3rd November @ 20.00 sponsored by Dunmanway Chamber. This was the school Sam Maguire attended in his youth and there could be no better venue for the launch. Originally from Dunmanway Kieran was a lecturer in DIT in Dublin for many years and his book is a fascinating and long overdue examination of the enigma who was Sam Maguire who spent much of his life outside the mainstream and died in Dunmanway in 1927. A Protestant Nationalist who inducted his fellow Post Office employee in London, Michael Collins into the IRB, captain of London Hibernians who only ever played Gaelic games outside of Ireland and head of the IRA’s intelligence operation in London who was sacked by both the British and Irish Post Office’s and was denied a pension by both. Kieran Connolly’s book is a fascinating read and the Mayor of County Cork, Cllr. Declan Hurley will be MC at the book launch.

As a special treat The beautiful Sam Maguire Community Bells will be ringing this Friday 3rd November from 7.30 to 8 for the launch of The Sam Maguire book “The man and the cup” at St. Mary’s Church in the Main Street where Sam is buried.

The beautiful Sam Maguire community bells will be ringing this Friday 3rd November from 730 to 8 for the launch of The Sam Maguire book "The man and the cup" by Kieran Connolly

With its shopping, entertainment, community and wonderful sporting facilities, including the new state of the art pool complex Dunmanway is a great place to live, shop, play and relax and Dunmanway Chamber of Commerce is ensuring it is the vibrant and warm hearted centre of that special place and state of mind known as West Cork!

In 1898, to widespread bemusement, a small Provincial Newspaper in an equally small town in the South West corner of Ireland sonorously warned the Czar of Russia that it knew what he was up to and he should be careful how he proceeded for “The Skibbereen Eagle” was wise to his game and in future would be keeping its eye on him! It is doubtful that Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, even noticed the Eagle’s admonitions but as history soon proved he should have paid closer attention to the Eagle’s insightful opinions!

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